How To Save A Life
by SVUCSIWTRDOOLluver
Summary: Fic kinda based on the song by The Fray, major spoilers for the finale, someone dies, but are they really dead? Probably. Definitely SMacked, D/L, F/A, and SheldonBecca, a character I came up with in another story. Chapter 10 is up, please R&R!
1. Love

Another CSI:NY story from me! I know, I haven't updated my "Night Of Karaoke" story yet, but that's because I'm just completely stuck! Don't you just hate that, when you want to write this story/chapter so bad, but you just can't? It sucks! And it bothers me! Plus, you get this other story nagging you, so finally you give up and write that other story? Maybe it's just me. Sorry for the rant! Basically, takes place after the 5th season finale, but Jess didn't die, she was just wounded. (I refuse to believe she's dead!) In the beginning, it's Stella being very emotionally confused. It'll go on from there. I know, I suck at summaries, but, I'm going to shut up now. ENJOY!!!

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Stella sat in the waiting room, staring at her hands. Blood covered both of her hands, some of it hers from the glass shattering in her hand, some of it Mac's, where she had desperately put her hands over his bullet wounds, trying to stop the blood from seeping out of his body. So many bullets, so much blood. Stella blinked a few times, her vision slipping from present to past.

_Shots rang out in the night, and everyone ducked. Stella felt the glass shatter in her hand as she ducked and barely felt the pain as the glass cut her hand. She looked around desperately as everyone was ducking for cover. The shots stopped, but everyone stayed down. _

_Danny and Lindsay were clutching each other, but seemed fine. Sheldon was grazed in the shoulder, and Don was helping him stop the bleeding, and then Stella noticed that Don was bleeding from a wound in the side. Sheldon helped him stop the bleeding, and then Stella saw Adam, who was fine, but was looking terrified at someone next to Stella. Stella looked over and saw Mac lying prone on the ground, bullets in his gut, chest and arm._

"_Get me an ambulance NOW!" Stella yelled out, scrambling over to her partner's side. Her hands tried to stop the bleeding as Mac's hands found hers and held tightly. Stella's terrified eyes met Mac's, and he tried to say something. She bent her ear to his mouth as he murmured,_

"_Love, you, Stel." She pulled back, tears filling her eyes as she grabbed his shirt, demanding,_

"_Don't you dare die on me, Mac Taylor!" His eyes had a hint of disappointment, and Stella knew that wasn't what he wanted to hear. "I love you too, Mac." She whispered, and then the ambulance came roaring up._

"Stel?" Sheldon's voice said, and Stella jerked to reality, seeing the former M.E. looking at her in concern.

"Yeah?" She said, blinking a few times, coming back to focus.

"Your hands." He said, sitting next to her and waving for a nurse.

"Oh. Just a few scratches. Most of it isn't mine." She said in a ghost of a voice, and Sheldon looked in her eyes, nodding understandingly.

"It's Mac's, it's it?" At her nod, he sighed as the nurse came over. "Get her hands cleaned and bandaged for me, please." Sheldon said to the nurse, and Stella followed the nurse blindly.

Mac was still in surgery, and no one knew anything about his condition, as the nurses didn't know. Only the doctors that were performing the surgery knew, and they were still in the operating room, too busy to talk to anyone else. Danny and Lindsay sat in the waiting room, while Lindsay held Lucy tightly.

"D'you think he'll make it?" Danny asked hollowly, not wanting to imagine life without his mentor. Lindsay put her head on his shoulder, saying quietly,

"I hope so. If he doesn't, Stella won't survive."

"She will. She just won't be the same. None of us will, if he doesn't." Don said, sitting down next to Danny, speaking from experience of almost losing his Jess, who was still in the hospital and who he had just come from visiting.

"Did you see the look on her face when they took Mac away?" Lindsay asked him, and Don shook his head. Danny blew out a breath, saying,

"It was twice as worse as yours when the doctors took Jess in for surgery." Don sucked in a breath, knowing that the look on his face was pretty bad when the doctors took Jess in for surgery.

Sheldon came back with Stella, who had her hands bandaged and she sat across from the group as Sheldon sat next to Lindsay. The four looked at her as she stared off into space, and by the look on her face, she wasn't in the present anymore. She was back in the past, to happier times, to the night after Mac was rescued.

_Stella knocked on Mac's door, unsure of what she was really doing there. She managed to convince herself, by the time Mac got to the door, that she was there to make sure he was okay. When he did open the door, he wordlessly let her inside._

"_You okay, Stel?" He asked as soon as both of them were standing in the living room, and Stella half-smiled and said,_

"_Shouldn't I be asking you that?"_

"_I asked you first." He said with a slight smile, and Stella sighed, saying,_

"_I'm just worried about you."_

"_I'm fine, Stella. I promise." He said, and Stella nodded, looking into his eyes. Both of them fell silent, and Mac knew that Stella was on an emotional edge from almost losing him. He walked over to her and murmured, "C'mere, Stel."_

_She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he pulled her close, knowing she needed it. "I'm still here, Stella, and I'm not going anywhere." She nodded as she clung to him, letting her strong façade melt down, just for a little while._

_When she got her composure back, she drew back and said quietly, "Thank you, Mac. I obviously needed that." She smiled at him, and he impulsively kissed her cheek softly. She froze, he had never kissed her cheek before. She had kissed his many times before, but never had he kissed hers. Not that she minded, but this was just new territory. Uncharted waters._

"_Stella." He whispered, staying in close proximity with her. She put a hand on his cheek and said,_

"_Mac, this is, it isn't, it's uncharted waters."  
_

"_I know. That's what makes it worthwhile." Mac said quietly, and Stella threw caution to the winds and did what she had been longing to do for a while. She pressed her lips to his, and when he drew her close and deepened the kiss, it left no doubt in her mind as to where this was going. _

_She wasn't going to her apartment that night. She was spending the night in Mac's arms, which was better than her apartment any day._

Stella was jerked back to reality when Adam sat down next to her. She faced him and tried to smile, a smile he tried to reciprocate but wasn't working. "You okay, Adam?"

"Yeah. Just a few scratches." He said, and she nodded, saying,

"Good. What's up?"

"I wanted to apologize." He muttered, looking down at his hands. Stella was bemused, saying,

"For what?"

"I froze, when I saw Mac shot. I didn't do anything, maybe he'd have better chances if I had done something, you know…" Adam said, but trailed off as Stella put her hand on his. He looked at her, a few tears in his eyes and Stella knew that Mac getting shot was hard on everyone, especially Adam, who looked up to Mac like a son looks up to his father.

"Adam, listen to me. Are you listening?" Stella said, and when Adam nodded, she said, "Nothing is your fault. You froze, big deal. There is nothing you could've done any faster. The ambulance was already on its way, from the 911 calls. You did great, Adam. Trust me."

--

I love my SMacked, can't you tell? I'll get back to the present in the next chapter, but there might be another flashback, just to let you know the background of the story. Trust me, the next, and last, flashback, will be the most important one. I hope you liked this chapter, and thanks for reading! (OMG, I just found out that Gary Sinise and I are both Pieces! Um, the horoscope, because I don't know if that's how you spell that horoscope! Our birth dates are, like, 13 days apart! Except for the part that he was born quite a number of years before me, but who's minding the details? Sorry, had to say that.) Adios for now!


	2. Listen

Second chapter to this story! I'm not going to ramble like I did the last chapter, but I'll try a summary. Basically, Stella has another flashback, and we get to know why she's freaking out so much over Mac getting shot. (Though she would anyways, but this makes her freak out even more) I know, I suck at summaries, SORRY! Here's the chapter: ENJOY!!!

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Adam nodded, and Stella stood up, pulling Adam with her and hugging him. He hugged her back, and then remembered Mac's warning to him. _"Keep your crush to yourself," _Mac had said. Adam drew back, and Stella smiled at him before sitting back down, and Adam went to sit with the others, who had millions of questions for him.

Stella, meanwhile, sat back, staring at the ceiling, remembering how she had caught the flu December.

_After the night they had spent together, Mac and Stella decided to go back to 'square one' and take it slow. They had been on a number of dates, either for dinner, at the movies, and recently, at Mac's or at Stella's. But when Stella caught the flu, she took a week off of work at Mac's insistence. _

_And when he got off work everyday, he came to her apartment and stayed there until he had to leave the next morning, taking care of her. It had been heaven right in the middle of hell for Stella, because getting sick was hell, but having Mac take care of her was heaven._

_When she had gotten better, Mac asked her, in the middle of January, to move in with her. She had agreed, renting her apartment to a newcomer to New York and moving in with Mac. When she had registered the change in address, Mac was in the chief of detective's office, making sure that there were no rules against her moving in with him and no career repercussions for either of them._

_Turns out that there's only a rule against a subordinate and a supervisor having a relationship, not one against two supervisors or two subordinates, which Mac was glad for both him and Stella, and Danny and Lindsay._

_A few months later, around March, Stella started throwing up, and both she and Mac knew that her flu had come back. Mac told her to take the day off and go to the doctor and get some medicine, and though he wanted to go with her, they caught a huge case and Mac had to go in._

_So, Stella had gone to the doctors office and they ran some tests to determine what kind of flu she had. The doctor called her into the office later that day, and told her that she didn't have the flu._

_Her symptoms were morning sickness, not the flu._

_Stella was dazed on the drive home. The fact that she was pregnant with Mac's child didn't sink in for about a month. She didn't tell anyone, as she wanted to wait until the three month mark, just to make sure her baby was fine and in no danger. It wasn't worth it, telling everyone that she was pregnant and then having, well, she didn't want to think about it._

It was now May, and Stella was going to tell Mac that she was pregnant right after they left the bar. Of course, she hadn't gotten the chance. And now, she might not ever get the chance.

Stella jerked out of her thoughts, forcing herself not to think like that. To get her mind off of Mac's frightening predicament, she got up abruptly and strode off down the hall, towards Jess's room. She knew what number it was, from having asked the nurse earlier. As she strode off, the team looked after her.

"Where's she going?" Lindsay asked, and Don said,

"Jess's room, probably."

"Yeah." Danny said in assent, and put his arm around Lindsay's shoulders and put his free hand on Lucy's cheek as Lucy slept.

Stella did go to Jess's room, and as soon as she knocked on the door, Jess's voice said, "Come on in."

Stella walked in and Jess saw her tortured face. Jess raised one arm and Stella hugged her, letting a few tears leak through her supposed façade and Jess said, "He'll make it, Stel, he's a fighter."

Stella nodded as she drew back, wiping the few tears away and sat next to Jess. "How're you feeling, Jess?" She asked, and Jess shrugged, saying,

"I'm fine. A little sore, but that's to be expected. It's not like it's the first time I've ever been shot. Although, Don seems to think it is." Stella cracked a smile and said,

"He's worried about you. That just goes to show that he cares about you. He loves you, you know."

Jess shot a look to Stella's innocent face, and smiled softly, saying, "Well, if he said that to me, I'd believe it."

"What would you say back?" Stella questioned, trying to forget the pain she was feeling. Not physical pain. Emotional pain.

"That I love him too." Jess said quietly, and Stella took Jess's hand, squeezing.

"Jess, I gotta tell you something, but you have to promise to not tell anyone else. Including Don."

"Sure." Jess said, a little worried now.

"Mac and I, we've been together since September." Stella confessed, and Jess smile, her smile widening as she said,

"Always knew that there was something between you two. Congratulations."

"Don't say that yet," Stella muttered, and pressed on, saying, "I found out, a few months back, that I'm pregnant."

Jess was shocked into silence for a long moment, and then a grin split her face, saying, "That's great!" Then she caught sight of Stella's anguished face before Stella stood up, facing the window and whispering,

"I never told Mac, Jess."

Jess now knew why Stella was feeling so tortured. She thought that if Mac didn't make it, he would never know that he had a child. Unborn, but still, a child. "Oh Stella. You must be a wreck."

"Yeah," Stella said, scoffing a little, adding, "You could say that." She faced Jess just as the door opened and Don walked in. Stella hid her face as she quickly wiped her eyes, but Don's sharp detective eyes still caught it.

He walked over to Stella's side and put his hands on her shoulders gently, making her look at him. "Stel, what's going on that you're not telling me?"

"Nothing…" She muttered, and Don scoffed, saying,

"Right. C'mon, Stel, I'm your friend. I'm here for you, just tell me what's wrong. C'mon, Stella, please?"

Stella looked pleadingly at Don and said quietly, her voice almost breaking, "I…I can't, Don. Not, not now. Not yet. Just, give me some time, okay?"

"Okay. But you gotta promise me…" Don started to say, and Stella finished his sentence with a small smile,

"I promise I'll tell you when I'm ready." Jess hid a smile as Don asked both of them as he let go of Stella's shoulders,

"Am I that predictable?"

"Oh yeah." Jess said, and Stella nodded in assent.

Just then, Sheldon appeared in the doorway, having just run down from the waiting room. "Stel, Mac's out of surgery. They don't think he's gonna make it through the night, but he's awake and he's asking for you."

"Oh my God." Stella whispered as she rushed out of the room, followed by Don as all three of them literally ran down the hall and Stella skidded to a stop outside of Mac's room and slipped in.

--

Well, did you like the end of that chapter? And the next chapter will be incredibly sad, but I'll tell you this a million times: at least five chapters to go, if not more. Remember that when you read the next chapter, whenever I get it written! Thanks for reading, and I hope you liked it! Adios for now!


	3. Breathe

Third chapter to this story! I listened to "My Immortal" by Evanescence while writing this chapter, so if that gives you a hint as to what's to come, then…think hard! If you want to listen to it while reading, it's a good idea, just makes the chapter more impacting, I think. And ENJOY, if you can!

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"Stella," Mac's raspy voice came from the bed in the room, and Stella's eyes took in the sight before her. Mac's complexion was dangerously pale from the blood loss, and his face looked more gaunt than usual. Especially lately, his face had been happier, but now it was back to what it was after Claire's death.

"Mac," Stella said quietly, stepping to his side. He raised one of his hands and Stella gripped it like it was a lifeline, refusing to let her tears fall.

"They said I'm gonna die, Stel…" Mac began to say, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Don't talk like that, Mac." Stella begged, almost losing it, hearing him talk about his own death.

"We have to consider it as an option." He rasped, both of them looking into each other's eyes, drinking in the others appearance like they would never see each other again.

"And if I refuse?" Stella said, her voice betraying the tears in her eyes.

"Too bad." Mac said, trying to smile. Stella managed to smile back before burying her face in his chest as she sat down next to him and starting to cry. His hands stroked her back and her hair as he murmured, "It'll be okay, Stel, you'll be okay."

"But, there's something I have to tell you, Mac." She said remembering that she had better take her chance and tell him now.

"What?" He asked as she drew back, and she hesitated, telling him,

"I love you."

"I love you too, Stel." He said, coughing a few times. Stella heard the doctors mutter something about the blood being in his lungs again and that there was nothing they could do, but she ignored them completely. The only doctor's opinion that she cared about now was Hawkes, and he was in the corner, evaluating Mac's surgery and tests.

"That's not all." Stella said quietly as Hawkes came over and said to both of them,

"It doesn't look good. They can't remove the bullets without killing you, but the bullets will kill you if they stay in." Sheldon's voice broke, and he clapped Mac gently on the shoulder, saying, "I'm sorry, Mac."

"Don't be. Just, watch over Stella for me, will you?" Mac said, so only Sheldon could hear him. Sheldon nodded as Mac coughed again, his cough feebler than the last time. Sheldon went to get the others, and Stella went to his other side, saying,

"Mac, I need to tell you, something else." Mac looked at her in concern, but then Lindsay and Danny came in with Lucy. Lindsay handed Lucy to her godfather, possibly for the last time. Mac cooed at the little girl, who hugged his neck and said her first word, "Mac." Everyone was stunned into silence, and a look came over Mac's face, and Stella saw a parental spark in his eyes. She knew she had to tell him about her being pregnant, but Lindsay hugged Mac, with tears in her own eyes.

"I don't like goodbyes." She muttered as Danny shook hands with Mac and hugged him. Danny had tears in his eyes, though he wouldn't admit it. Lindsay and Danny took Lucy and stood to the side while Stella gripped Mac's hand, willing to wait until everyone else saw Mac.

Next was Don, who couldn't say anything. He just hugged Mac, who was equally unable to talk. Don finally said, "Jess wanted me to tell you that she said to fight. She said you have to fight."

Mac nodded, and Stella's throat constricted, knowing what Jess meant. Adam suddenly burst in, pulling Kendall by the hand, followed by Sid. The three surrounded Mac, and Stella was getting desperate to tell Mac that she was pregnant.

When Adam led a crying Kendall to the side and Sid stood by Sheldon and Don, Stella saw Mac's heartbeat decrease rapidly. He was falling in and out of consciousness, and Mac whispered,

"I'll wait, for you,"

The doctors suddenly realized that there was something they could try, a new surgery that hadn't been proven safe yet, but it was Mac's last chance. They rushed everyone out except for Stella, who had to sign off on the surgery, as she was Mac's legal power of attorney. She did, and Mac slipped into unconsciousness as she said desperately, almost yelling,

"I'm pregnant, Mac, it's your baby! You've got to fight, fight for me, fight for your child! Please, Mac, don't leave me, don't leave our baby, please." Her voice trailed off to a whisper as the doctors gently shoved her out into the hall.

She stood there, staring at the door, shell-shocked, until she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked to see Lindsay looking at her. Lindsay said,

"Are you pregnant, Stella?"

Stella realized that everyone had heard her desperate outburst, and she looked at everyone else, who were looking back at her. She nodded once, and Lindsay pulled her into a hug as Stella allowed herself to break down, holding onto Lindsay, who understood completely what she was going through.

She felt the same thing when Danny had rode off on his motorcycle. She thought she would never see or hear from him again, but she had been wrong. She knew Stella thought Mac wasn't going to live. She hoped that Stella, and everyone else including her own self, were wrong.

Stella backed out of Lindsay's arms, sending a grateful look her way. Lindsay just nodded as Stella stood there for a long moment, her hand covering her mouth. Then she turned and strode down the hall, eventually breaking into a run. She ran outside where the sun was shining, and it seemed to mock her with every step she took.

Eventually she collapsed by a tree, her knees up to her chest that shook with sobs. Her arms encircled her knees and she tried to calm down. It took her awhile, but she eventually felt the tears stop flowing. Her breath caught in her throat a few times, but then saw Don walking towards her. She went to stand up but he shook his head and sat down next to her.

"You okay, Stel?"

"For now." Stella said, casting a look at him. Don looked at the ground and sighed, saying,

"Yeah. Yeah, I know what you mean."

The two friends sat there in silence for about an hour, both of them contemplating their outlook on life. Don had almost lost the love of his life, and Stella's love of her life was fighting for his life.

"Did you tell Mac before?" Don asked, his voice breaking their silence, and Stella said sadly,

"No. It was stupid, but I didn't. I was going to tell him right after we got home after the night out at the bar, but that didn't happen."

"He'll fight, Stella."

"He will. I just don't know if it'll be enough." Stella said, and before she could start crying she stood up and started walking back to the hospital. She heard Don jog to catch up with her and the two friends walked back into the hospital, going to see if Mac was going to be okay.

The surgery was only supposed to last a few hours or so, so when they got up there, Stella scanned her friend's faces expectantly. They were all sitting or standing, and Lindsay clutched Lucy in her arms, while Danny had his arms around the both of them, shell-shocked expressions on their faces. Adam and Kendall were holding each other, Sheldon's eyes were closed and his head was against the wall, while Sid was sitting and had his head in his hands.

She heard Don stop in his tracks next to her, but she walked towards her friends, her mind screaming, _"No! Dammit, it wasn't supposed to go like this! He was supposed to be okay! He was supposed to live, for me, for our baby…"_

Stella swallowed hard and found her voice, saying, "Sheldon?" He looked up at her, a grave expression in his eyes, and shook his head once.

--

This is a very angsty story, isn't it? Please, don't hate me right now! *ducking flying objects thrown by weepy and angry readers*! Let me know what you think, and thanks for reading! Don't give up on this story yet, please! I hope you liked it, and adios for now!


	4. Imagine

Fourth chapter to this story! Now, read this chapter closely, and you might be able to guess where I'm actually going with this! Now, ENJOY!!!

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"What happened?" Stella demanded, fighting the tears back as she stood in front of Sheldon.

"The Feds suspect that terrorists could've done this, so they wanted to talk with Mac right when he woke up, which was about a half hour ago, but the doctors wouldn't let anyone but them in." Sheldon's voice broke and Danny spoke up for him, saying,

"The two 'special' agents came out and looked pretty grave. They told us Mac was, gone, but we refused to believe it, 'cause I saw one of them hide a bottle of something when they came out."

"But then the doctor came out," Sid continued, adding, "And told us he was, he was gone." No one could go on by that point, and Stella was frozen, and for a second it didn't look like she was breathing.

Stella swayed on her feet, and everyone stood up to steady her, but she muttered, "I'm fine. I just, I need to see him."

"The doctors…" Adam started to say, but Stella strode past them all, saying,

"Screw the doctors. They let him die in the first place." Stella determinedly walked down the hallway, leaving the rest of the mourning for their fallen friend. She got to the door where she knew Mac's room was, and a nurse came out, not shutting the door all the way. Stella opened the door and slipped it, seeing a doctor signing what she assumed to be the death certificate.

"Ma'am, you're not supposed to be in here…" The doctor said worriedly, looking nervous, and Stella replied, not looking at him, instead looking at the sheet that covered the body of her best friend and love,

"He's my boyfriend."

"Even so, I can't permit you…"

"He's the father of my unborn child." Stella said in an icy voice, and the doctor fell silent, knowing she just needed a moment. But he wasn't leaving.

"Fine. You can have a few moments, but I can't leave the body, and…"

"I don't care." Stella said, not wanting to think about him being autopsied, not wanting to think about him being dead at all.

Her hand went to the sheet, and she pulled it back, centimeter by centimeter. Slowly, the sheet revealed the face of Mac Taylor. Her breath caught in her throat as she let her hand float over his face, remembering the face that had been burned into her mind so many nights before.

"Mac…" She whispered, wanting his eyes to open, but they weren't, like she knew they wouldn't. Tears pooled in her eyes, but she blinked them back, not wanting to break in front of Mac. She had to be strong, so he could go in peace.

"Ma'am…" The doctor said nervously, and Stella turned away, catching the movement under the sheets out of the corner of her eye. She whipped back around, staring at where Mac's chest was, but then didn't see anything again. Stella figured it was just her imagination, and then started to walk out.

The doctor shooed her out, looking at Mac's body nervously. Stella didn't care as she figured he was a new guy and this was his first dead body. Stella was wiping her eyes gently as she walked back to where her friends were. Danny and Don were looking furious, so Stella opened her mouth to ask, when Adam came up behind her and muttered,

"A few Feds are here, they want to take the case from us."

"Like hell." Stella muttered, and strode up to the two Feds. They looked at her in shock, and she got in their faces, saying, "This case is ours. Discussion over."

"No it's not, Detective…"

"Bonasera. Stella Bonasera. Mac Taylor's partner. He's lying dead, DEAD in that room, and you want me to give up this case? You have a better chance of getting a snowball to last longer than a minute in hell." Stella ranted, letting her emotions channel themselves into anger at the agents.

"We're sorry for your loss…" One of them began to say, but Stella cut him off, saying,

"No you're not. I just lost my partner, my best friend, my boyfriend, the father of my unborn child, and you want to take this case from me? Good luck."

The agents, if they were shocked before, they were now utterly floored. Stella pressed her advantage and said, "Now, if there aren't any more questions, my team and I have to go process the scene. And if you try and stop us, I promise, I won't be responsible for what happens."

She looked at the team, now hers since Mac was gone, and they stood up, ready to go. She cast them all a sad smile and started walking down the hall. One of the agents, who's ID said his name was Special Agent Brian Archery, grabbed Stella's arm and yanked her back. She slapped him with her other hand and he caught that arm too, saying,

"You just assaulted a federal agent."

"Who assaulted me first." She hissed, and then Don and Sheldon grabbed the agent, pulling him away from Stella as Danny, Sid and Adam blocked the other agent, Special Agent Mike Zingy's path. Stella walked down the hall, and the team followed her. She told them to go ahead to the crime scene; she wanted to talk to Jess. Don had already told Jess that Mac was gone, but Stella needed to talk to her.

Danny took charge at the crime scene while Adam and Kendall stood on the sidelines, watching Lucy for Lindsay as she processed with Danny and Sheldon, while Don searched for witnesses and did other detective stuff.

Stella sat in the chair next to Jess, and Jess said, "You didn't get to tell him, did you?" Stella shook her head miserably, and as Jess gripped her hand, she allowed herself to break down, something she had been needing to do ever since Sheldon had shook his head an hour ago.

"It'll be okay, Stel," Jess murmured as Stella let go of her hand and dropped her head into her own hands. Jess managed to reach out from her position and lay a hand on her friend's shoulder, rubbing in a soothing motion. She hated seeing her friend break down like that, but she had broken down herself with Don when he had come to tell her that Mac was dead.

When Jess couldn't stand seeing her friend cry anymore, she changed the subject and said, "Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?"

"Not yet." Stella said, sitting up straight and wiping her eyes with a tissue Jess handed her. "But I've been thinking about names."

"Run 'em by me." Jess encouraged, anything to get both of their minds off losing Mac.

"Well, if it's a girl, I know her first or middle name will be Claire."

"That's sweet of you." Jess said with a soft smile, and Stella smiled in return, saying,

"Well, she was my best friend too."

"Should I be insulted?" Jess teased, and Stella laughed softly, saying,

"Nope."

"Good." Jess said, and then Stella said,

"And I'm thinking maybe either Claire Aiden Taylor, or Aiden Claire Taylor." Jess smiled, remembering the night that she and Don had double dated with Danny and Lindsay, and the girls had listened while Don and Danny went on about Aiden Burn.

"And if it's a boy?"

"If it's a boy, I'm thinking maybe Blake Austin Taylor, or maybe Damon, maybe Chris, I'm not sure yet."

"Hoping it's a girl?"

"Is it that obvious?" Stella countered, a blush forming in her cheeks. She felt majorly guilty for laughing when Mac had just passed, but she knew that if Mac knew she was thinking like that, he'd admonish her. So she just let herself smile and laugh with Jess as they continued to discuss baby names.

"You know, I really have to get back to that scene. I'm sure Danny, Lindsay and Sheldon would appreciate some help. Plus, Danny told me he can't focus as well when he has to be in charge of the scene, 'cause he's always checking the perimeter to make sure no one has tampered with evidence."

"Yeah. Go catch the bastards that did this to Mac." Jess said quietly as Stella stood up. She turned at the door and said in a voice that rang with truth,

"I will catch those bastards if it's the last thing I do. They'll burn in hell for what they did to Mac."

--

Well, what did you think of this chapter? And the next chapter will have a slight crossover with NCIS, as Mac was a marine, so they're going to take over for those evil, evil FBI agents. There's only going to be a few characters from NCIS, so if you don't watch NCIS, never fear! Just think of them as characters I wrote it, like those two FBI agents. But they aren't, they're NCIS people! Thanks so much for reading and sticking with this story! Drop me a review and let me know what you think about the baby names! (I just have to write an angsty story right now, as I'm in marching band and one of my band mates was just killed in a car crash. THe angst is busting out of me right now, and this is my release. I hope you like it so far!) Adios for now!


	5. Let It Go

Fifth chapter to this story! Time for the slight NCIS crossover! Introducing: Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, a silver-haired, seasoned investigator that has had four wives, the first one, along with his only child, was killed back when he was a marine, since then he has married, and divorced, three women. Warning: he slaps the back of his coworkers heads when they goof off or do something stupid.

Next: Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, also known as Tony, a playboy former homicide cop that acts like he's back in college and is called immature by his female coworkers. Has since 'grown up' a little since his coworker Kate Todd was killed, a reference to her will be made a few times, and he has compassion for the victims, and is known to make jokes to make people feel better, or just to annoy them. Warning: you will be annoyed by all of his movie references if you spend even an hour with him.

Finally: Forensic Scientist Abigail Sciuto, also known as Abby or Abbs or Ab, an incredibly smart Goth who listens to punk music and is known to be very cheerful and peppy, mostly fueled by her addiction to a caffeinated drink called Caf-Pow. Owns a stuffed farting hippo called Bert and only dresses in 'normal' clothes when she has to go to court. Warning: you may be startled by her usually black clothes, but sometimes pink or red or other colors, and short skirts, and chains, and collars and Goth jewelry and sometimes low-cut shirts.

Wow. That's a long introduction. You probably already skipped this, so ENJOY!!!

--

Two men were striding down the hallway, one was a silver-haired man with icy blue eyes, while the other one was a younger looking man with short brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. They stopped at Jess's room, hearing a woman say,

"I will catch those bastards if it's the last thing I do. They'll burn in hell for what they did to Mac."

The silver-haired man looked at the brown-haired man, who nodded, recognizing the voice of the woman they were searching for. The silver-haired man knocked, and the door opened. Before the woman could speak, the silver-haired man said,

"I'm Special Agent Jethro Gibbs, this is Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo."

"If you think you're gonna take this case away from my team…" The woman threatened, and Gibbs shook his head, saying,

"No. We want to offer our assistance, we're with NCIS, ma'am, not FBI like the other two agents."

"Good. They were idiots." The woman muttered, and both Gibbs and Tony had to hide a smile. "Sorry, where are my manners?" The woman said, and held out her hand, saying, "Detective Stella Bonasera."

"Call me Gibbs." Gibbs said, and shook her hand. Tony shook her hand next, saying,

"Call me Tony."

Stella nodded, trying to smile. She introduced Jess to them, and then walked out, with Gibbs on her right, Tony on her left. She said, "My team is down there processing, but you're welcome to lend them a hand, if you want. But we have an excellent lab, I don't want to send our evidence to D.C."

"That's fine. Would you be willing to let our forensic technician come up to help you process? I promise, she's the best in the business." Gibbs said, and Stella nodded, saying,

"I'm sure Adam Ross and Kendall Novak, my lab techs, wouldn't mind some help."

"Good." Gibbs said as they exited the hospital. Stella stopped, and both men looked at her.

"Why exactly does NCIS want to investigate my partner's death?"

"He was a marine, Detective Bonasera. I served with him." Gibbs said quietly, and Stella nodded, a few tears in her eyes as she blinked them away and said,

"Please, it's Stella. I'm glad to finally meet someone who knew him back then. He would never talk much about his marine days."

"Most of us don't." Gibbs said, and Tony waved to someone.

"Stella, meet Abby Sciuto, our forensic technician." Tony said as Abby walked up. Stella stared for a moment, and Abby stared right back at her.

"Stella?" Abby said, a little shocked. Stella smiled, saying,

"Long time no see, Abby."

As the two men looked on in complete confusion, Abby embraced the older woman, saying, "Oh my God, Stella, you told me you were dating him! I am so sorry!"

"Me too, Abby." Stella said quietly, hugging the younger woman back. As they drew apart, Gibbs and Tony raised their eyebrows.

"I went to a forensic conference here before, and Stella gave a talk on blood drops that I found extremely interesting, so we went out for coffee, and we've kept in touch via phone and email ever since!" Abby exclaimed, and Stella managed to smile at Abby.

Gibbs and Tony walked behind the two women until they got to the cars, and Tony took Abby away in their rental car, while Gibbs hung back to talk to Stella. She knew he wanted to talk, so she sat down on a bench and looked at him in expectation.

"Can you tell me what happened?" He asked, and she took a deep breath, saying,

"We were all in a bar, making a toast to our friend, she got shot earlier in the day and almost died, so we were toasting to her health, you could say."

Gibbs took out his memo pad and gestured for Stella to continue. "I was in the middle of speaking when I spotted a car driving by, it was black, I didn't get a license plate, but I noticed it because it was driving slow. I figured it was just looking for someone, so I didn't pay any attention to it. Next thing I know, bullets are flying everywhere from a machine gun and we were all ducking. I felt the glass shatter in my hand, and the next thing I knew, I saw Mac, bleeding on the floor." Her voice broke, and Gibbs went to say something, but Stella shook her head, needing to continue.

"I screamed for an ambulance while I tried to stop the bleeding." When Stella stopped speaking, Gibbs said,

"Did he say anything to you? Mumble anything?"

Stella's breath caught in her throat and she said softly, "He told me he loved me." Gibbs froze and looked at her, and she added, "I told him he had better not die on me, and then I told him I loved him too."

Gibbs placed a hand on her shoulder, and she took a few deep breaths before muttering, "Sorry 'bout that."

"Don't be." He said simply, and she flashed a smile at him before they got in Stella's car and Gibbs drove to the crime scene, where Abby was cooing at Lucy and Tony was looking for evidence with Danny, Lindsay and Sheldon. Stella and Gibbs got out of the car, and Danny said lowly,

"Who's that guy Stel's with?"

"My boss, Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Don't do anything stupid or he'll slap the back of your head." Tony muttered as Gibbs and Stella approached. Stella cleared her throat and said,

"This is Special Agent Gibbs, he'll be working with us on this. And no, he's not taking the case, this is a joint investigation with the NYPD in the lead, NCIS second, right Agent Gibbs?"

Gibbs nodded, and Stella waved her hand to show that everyone could continue to work. It was nearly five in the morning when they stopped working, and Sheldon offered Tony a bed at his place, as Becca, who had moved in with him, was working all night. Stella offered her guest bedroom to Abby, and then, taking a deep breath and decided to trust Special Agent Gibbs, walked up to him and said,

"I've got a comfy couch, if you want." Abby's eyes went wide, knowing her rule about no men in her apartment, and Gibbs protested but Stella insisted. As they started to walk away, Danny called,

"But didn't you rent out your apartment, Stel?"

"The people renting just moved out a week ago. It's been empty since, but I had my furniture moved out of storage and into the apartment a few days ago." She called back, and then got in her car and Abby hung back to loop her arm through Gibbs' arm and whispered in his ear,

"Do you realize that Stella had an ex-boyfriend attack her in her own apartment a few years ago?" At Gibbs' shocked no, she continued, "Since then she hasn't allowed a man in her apartment, except Mac. And occasionally someone from her team, but that's it."

When they got in the car, Gibbs turned to Stella and said, "I'll just go to a hotel, Stella, if you're uncomfortable."

Stella shook her head, shooting a glance at Abby and saying, "No. Mac trusted you with his life, I trust you to sleep on my couch."

Gibbs didn't push the matter, and when they got to Stella's apartment, Abby slipped into Stella's bedroom to talk to her while Gibbs lay down on Stella's surprisingly comfortable couch.

In an hour, Abby went back to the spare bedroom and Stella tried to sleep, but kept tossing and turning, trying to get the image of Mac dying on the operating table out of her mind. She was eventually successful, because she began to drift off.

Then came the nightmares.

--

I know, not a lot of the team in this one, just Stella, Gibbs, Abby and Tony, but I promise, in the next chapter there will be a lot of Flangell, Dantana and ShelBecca, if you've read "Stella's Sister" then you know who I'm talking about! Thanks so much for reading, and let me know if you didn't like something, please, so I can try to fix it! I hope you liked this chapter, and adios for now!!! WAIT, who saw the commercial for CSI:NY's new season? When Mac is lying down, it looks like Peyton (maybe) is kneeling next to him, and then Stella has this sexy outfit on, and then Adam is shown sitting in bed without his shirt! WTH??? What is going on??? I am so confused! Stella and Adam? Peyton coming back, maybe? Someone BESIDES Stella with Mac? Sorry, ranting, but who else saw that and processed it better than I did? Let me know, please! Thanks, and now adios for now!!!


	6. Believe

Sixth chapter of this story! And like I promised, Flack/Angell, Danny/Lindsay and Sheldon/Becca is all this story is! Oh, and some Adam/Kendall, but I haven't seen too many episodes with Kendall in them, so I'm not sure if I'm writing her correctly! Let me know if I am or if I am not, please! ENJOY!!!

--

"Hush a bye, don't you cry, go to sleep ye little Lucy…" Lindsay sang softly to her little baby as she rocked her to sleep. A small tear escaped her eyes as she thought of Mac, Lucy's godfather, singing her that song when Lucy had made a trip to the lab. Mac had her in his office and thought he was alone, but Lindsay, Stella and Jess were listening just out of his sight. When he finished singing, they had all walked in, saying he should go on Broadway. Needless to say he had denied it all.

A few more tears dripped off Lindsay's face as Lucy fell asleep, blissfully unaware that she would never see her godfather again, at least not while he was alive. Truth be told, Lindsay missed Mac. A lot. He had been the one to teach her some new techniques not taught back home in Montana.

She felt arms slip around her waist as she shut the door to the nursery AKA Danny's guest bedroom in his, now their, apartment. He nuzzled her neck as he whispered,

"You okay, Montana?"

"No. None of us are." Lindsay whispered, and spun around in Danny's arms, burying her face in the crook of his shoulder as a few tears escaped her eyes. She felt a warm wetness on her shirt and knew that Danny was crying too. "It'll be okay, Danny," Lindsay whispered in a soothing tone, rubbing his back gently.

"No it won't. He's, he's gone, Montana, he's gone." Danny said in an anguished whisper, and Lindsay carefully led them to the bedroom where they collapsed on the bed, holding each other tightly.

"I know, Danny. I know." Lindsay whispered, both of them still shell-shocked over losing Mac Taylor.

"Will this, this pain, ever go away, Lindsay?" Danny asked softly, and Lindsay looked up at him and said,

"I think you know the answer to that, Danny." Her voice betrayed her sadness, and he knew she never forgot her four friend's murders, and he never forgot Ruben's murder. And now, both of them will never forget Mac's murder.

"I love you, Linds." Danny suddenly said, and Lindsay immediately replied,

"Love you too, Danny."

The two fell asleep restlessly, clinging to each other and only waking to Lucy's normal midnight screams for something to eat and someone to hold her.

--

Don made his way to Jess's door and knocked once, softly. Jess's voice, equally soft said, "Come on it." Don pushed the door open and Jess immediately scooted over on her bed. He lay down next to her, pulling her into his arms and holding her tightly.

"I could've lost you." He murmured, and she buried her face in his chest, mumbling,

"You didn't. But we lost Mac."

"I'll never be able to forget that either." Don said, emotion choking his voice. Jess tightened her hold on him as his shoulders shook with silent sobs. Her soothing hands on his back encouraged him to let it all out, and he did, mourning the loss of one of his best friends, who had more than once helped him out of a bad situation.

"I miss him already." Jess whispered, and Don nodded, and she eased back, wiping his tears away with gentle hands.

"We'll get through." Don said shakily, sounding as if he was trying to convince himself and not her, but actually it was both.

"We have to." Jess said quietly, and they both lay there for a long moment, just relishing the feeling of being in each others arms, never forgetting the fact that she had almost died, and that Mac really had died.

"We see so much death, Jess, but when it happens to one of our own…" Don started to say, and Jess finished his thought,

"We lose it."

Don nodded as he pressed his lips to her forehead and then her temple, finally pressing his lips to her lips, pulling her as close as she possibly could get. Her hands clutched at his shirt and when they broke their desperate kiss she breathed,

"I love you, Don,"

"Love you too, Jess." He mumbled, putting his hand over Jess's heart to make sure she was still real and still in his arms.

"I'm real, Don. I promise, it's not a dream." She whispered, and he nodded, saying hoarsely,

"I was just about to say 'pinch me'."

"I will, you know…" Jess said playfully, fighting to get the sad mood lifted in the hospital room.

"Nah. It's okay. I know you're here."

"And I'm not going anywhere." Jess replied and Don sighed as he tried to sleep, and Jess faded off into sleep from the pain meds.

--

Sheldon made his way to the apartment he shared with his girlfriend Becca, who was Stella's long-lost sister. He fumbled with his key, something he never did, his hands steady from working in the morgue all those years, and being a surgeon.

The door flew open, and Becca stood there, her eyes red and a sad look on her face. He didn't even question why she was there and not at work, and didn't realize that Tony had gone into the guest bedroom and shut the door, where soft music was coming from it. She slid her arms around his neck and pulled him close as he let his arms slowly encircle her waist of their own accord.

"He, he's gone, Becca…" Sheldon managed to whisper, finally letting himself let go of his emotions, something he hadn't done in a while. He was used to keeping them bottled up, only letting them out in his sleep, in dreams and in nightmares. But since he had met Becca, that was changing. Changing fast.

"I know. Stella called me." She whispered, drawing back long enough to pull him inside and close the door. But by the time she did that, Sheldon strode into their bedroom tossing his jacket into the corner.

He watched silently as Becca picked it up and set in on the table. She stood up slowly and looked at him, saying softly, "I'm sorry, Shel."

"Me too." He said in a strangled whisper, and then pulled Becca into his arms, needing human contact. They stood there for a long time, and then he drew her head back, placing both his hands on her cheeks softly and gently.

"What happened?" Becca asked, needing to know. They sat down on the bed and Sheldon said in hollow tone,

"We were toasting Jess at a bar we usually went to, when this car drove by. The window rolled down, a gun came out, and started shooting at us. It was one of those machine guns, it just kept shooting and shooting. We all ducked, but Mac was the only one who got seriously hit. He was raced away in an ambulance, but the doctors said that he wouldn't make it. I was desperate to find something to save him as everyone said their goodbyes, and then the doctors and I found a risky surgery they could do, which they did. But it wasn't enough. He died under the knife."

"Oh Shel…" Becca said, laying her head on his shoulder and her arms wrapping around his waist as his arms wrapped around her. They laid back and Becca buried her face in his chest.

"The lab's never gonna be the same, Becca." Sheldon whispered as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"No it won't. None of us will be the same." Becca said quietly, and then pressed her lips to his chest, saying, "I love you, Sheldon."

"I love you more, Becca." She smiled, but didn't argue the point because they could go on all night on that argument.

--

After dropping the evidence off at the lab, Adam and Kendall got into Adam's car, but Kendall insisted on driving, as Adam had this hollow look in his eyes. She knew it was mirrored in her own eyes, but still, Adam was in no condition to drive.

When they got to Adam's apartment that she now lived it too, they got out and as they walked up to the apartment, Kendall grabbed Adam's hand, looking him in the eyes. He squeezed her hand and kissed her softly as they went into the apartment.

As soon as they got inside, Kendall felt herself pressed between Adam and the wall, something she didn't mind at all as their lips met in a desperate kiss. Both of them desperate from losing their boss and friend, they made their way to the bedroom.

Before they drifted off, Adam's arms tightened around Kendall's body and he whispered, "I love you, Kendall."

Kendall immediately replied, "I love you too, Adam." This was the first time they had told each other that they loved them, and it felt like the perfect time, though it occurred after an indescribable tragedy.

But they both knew that Mac would want a little more love in the world, no matter what the circumstances were.

--

Well, did you like the angst/love in this chapter? This is probably why my stories are almost all angst and romance, especially this one! I hope you liked this chapter, and thanks so much for reading! Adios for now!!!


	7. Forgive

Chapter 7 is up!!! I know, you all must hate me with a fiery, burning passion for not updating, but I had all of my stories on a USB flash drive, right? Well, I did, and then it got a little bent, and when I plugged it in one day, it STOPPED WORKING! I nearly had a heart attack right then and there, and my mom tried to fix it, but couldn't. :( So, I had to start over on EVERYTHING! Including the stories I wrote already, but hadn't posted!!! Needless to say, I've spent the last months in agony with the late nights, trying to recapture what I had already written. Forgive me, please! And enjoy this chapter, I start out with Stella's pain, and then she tries to forget the pain by diving into the investigation. I'm not much of a case fic writer, but I tried, for Mac. Enjoy!

--

"Mac…" Stella whispered in relief, seeing the handsome detective jogging towards her, a grin starting to form on his face. But it seemed like he was on a treadmill, jogging and jogging but not going anywhere.

"Mac?" She questioned, starting to jog herself. The trees and pavement flew by around her, but she wasn't getting any closer to Mac. Desperation crept into her veins and she started sprinting, desperately choking out,

"Mac!"

"Trust your heart, Stel," Mac's voice came to her, echoing like they were in a cave. She watched as his outline started to disappear, and her eyes grew wild with grief.

"Mac! No, Mac, don't leave me! Don't leave me and your baby! Our baby! Please, Mac," Stella yelled, the exertion from running starting to take its toll, but she kept running.

"Love, you," Mac's voice said again, and he faded away.

"NO!" Stella screamed, suddenly jerking herself awake and sitting upright in her bed.

"Stella? You okay?" Abby's hesitant voice came from the closed doorway, and Stella dropped her head into her hands, blinking at the sunlight. She wanted to lay down, yank the covers over her head and let the misery have her.

Wait. Sunlight?

"Damn!" Stella swore, leaping out of bed and staggering to the door, yanking it open to see a startled Abby and a wary Gibbs down the hall. "What time is it?" Stella demanded, and Abby replied,

"Um, it's 10:30,"

"Son of a…" Stella muttered, racing to the bathroom and quickly hopping in the shower. As she scrubbed her hair, she could almost feel Mac running his hands through her hair, and the salty tears mixed in with the water on her face.

Within 5 minutes she was out and was drying her hair as quickly as she could. Trying to keep her emotions in check she strode out of the bathroom in her robe, slipping into her room and throwing on a short sleeve shirt and a pair of black pants. She stuffed her feet into a pair of flats and tossed her damp hair up into a ponytail, grabbing her sunglasses and slipping on her forehead. They were going to help hide the emotions she knew she was going to have to hide throughout the day.

Stella strode into the living room and saw Gibbs drinking a cup of coffee and Abby nibbling on a piece of toast. She grabbed a coat and her keys, saying, "I'm going in,"

"You need some breakfast, Stella," Abby said earnestly, and Stella turned around, saying,

"I lost more than 3 hours that could have been spent hunting down Mac's killers. But no, I spent them in bed, wallowing in my own grief. It's inexcusable." She tried to keep her temper down, but it flared up on her last sentence and she barely made it out the door before the tears dripped down her face. Swiping at them with an oath she strode down to the elevator and made it to the lab in record time.

She walked in, seeing Don and Lindsay in Lindsay's office, on the computer, no doubt going over witnesses that were at the bar or outside. Tony was heading towards them, a file in his hand, probably someone else he talked to at the scene. As she kept walking, she saw Sid walking towards Danny, hopefully with something to report. Stella refused to think of Mac being autopsied, and she hoped Sid had been spared that horrifying deed. She kept going and saw Adam and Kendall discussing with Sheldon what they had found forensic-wise.

Carefully she stood at the door to Mac's office, taking a deep breath and then kept walking to her office, berating herself for chickening out. There were many messages on her phone, and she scrolled through the names, finding mostly police officers and government officials, no doubt offering their condolences to Mac's partner and his team. With a sigh she switched her computer on and put together what she knew to be facts, then walking to the conference room and putting it all on the whiteboard. As she worked, she became aware of the team shuffling in, one or two at a time.

When she turned around, she wasn't startled to see everyone there, including Gibbs, Abby and Tony. "This is what I know so far. Who wants to fill in the blanks?" Stella said, and Don stood up, looking at Stella in concern, seeing the red rims around her eyes. She shook her head and sat down as Don said,

"Me, Lindsay and Tony found 10 witnesses, but 8 of them were actually in the bar. None of them saw much except people ducking, flying glass, spilled liquid and a black car with flashes of light coming from it. The other 2, however, were outside and hit the pavement. One of them got a full license plate number." The satisfaction was present in Don's tone as he wrote in the number in the box labeled 'Vehicle Description'.

Sid spoke up, "I'm sorry to tell you, Stella, but a few FBI agents broke into our morgue, said they had a warrant and they, um…"

"Took his body." Stella said flatly, standing up and everyone could see the hot fire burning in her eyes.

"Yes. I tried to stop them, but they almost arrested me for obstruction of justice."

"Oh I'll show them justice," Stella muttered, striding out of the conference room. Gibbs quickly got out of his seat and jogged towards her, touching her arm. Stella whipped around, demanding, "What, Agent Gibbs?"

"If you're going to deal with the FBI, let me help." Gibbs said with his eyes narrowed, and Stella knew she would need another federal cop when she dealt with a federal agency.

"All right." They got into the elevator together, and Stella whispered, "Thanks."

Gibbs just shrugged, but glanced at her, twitching a smile.

--

"Well, I guess it's my turn," Danny said, heaving himself out of his chair and turning to the group, saying, "The bullets are standard M-16's, available in pretty much every gun store that's on the up and up, even some that aren't, but at least we have stria, from 2 different guns, mind you, that we can use to compare and throw the book at these bastards."

"But, there was a unusual solution on the bullets," Kendall stated with a grin, and Danny raised his eyebrows. As Kendall walked up, Danny mock bowed and then sat down. Kendall rolled her eyes with a smile and elaborated, "Adam and I were examining the bullets, and there was something slick about them, as Adam kept dropping them."

"You did too," Adam muttered, and the group chuckled as Abby piped up,

"I ran a sample through Major Mass Spectrometer and discovered it's made of a bunch of ingredients none of you except Adam and Kendall would really, truly understand, so I'll just say that it was,"

Kendall interrupted, grinning at Abby and saying, "Extremely expensive gun oil. We ran the brand, and there's only one that carries it. Fortunately there're only 3 stores that carry it in all of New York City, one in Brooklyn and one here in Manhattan."

"It's mostly used for making sure that every bullet gets used, so that there's no sticking or anything, but for it to work, your gun has to be impeccably clean, nothing is to be used except the oil, and then you're guaranteed a shot every time you pull the trigger." Adam added, and Sheldon said,

"Well, we need the security footage from those 3 stores,"

"And run the license plate number, it's probably stolen, but maybe we can try and get a link of the killers," Lindsay added, and Danny finished with,

"When we do, we can match them to whoever's in the security footage, get them ID'd and boom! They're going down hard."

"Danny, let's go get that footage," Tony suggested, thinking that maybe a federal badge might help speed things along.

"If we ask nice, maybe we won't need a warrant." Danny said with a grin, and Don stood up, saying, "Mind if I tag along?"

"D'ya think I'm gonna say no?" Danny countered with a raise of his eyebrow.

"No need to get cheeky, smartass." Don muttered, and Tony chuckled, saying,

"3 cops, 3 stores. I smell a race…"

"Oh you're on." Don and Danny said in unison, and Lindsay rolled her eyes.

"Call me if you need a warrant, I'm sure we won't have a problem getting one." Lindsay said, a tinge of sadness in her voice as she knew there wasn't a judge in New York that wouldn't give them a warrant with the evidence they had. Not just because of probable cause, but also because a New York cop had been murdered.

Danny squeezed Lindsay's shoulder and walked out with Tony. Lindsay stood up and Sheldon offered,

"Want to help me run the license plate?"

"Sure," She replied, half-smiling at Kendall, Adam and Abby as she walked out.

"Let's get cracking, there's still evidence to be processed!" Abby said with a stern face, and then she broke out in a smile.

"Yeah, there's the bloody glass that we found outside as well as inside," Adam said thoughtfully.

"And all the fingerprints," Kendall added, and Abby said,

"All right, I'll take the DNA,"

"I'll take the fingerprints," Kendall said, and Adam muttered,

"I'll take everything else."

Kendall and Abby laughed as the three lab techs walked out, everyone headed to their jobs with only one thing on their minds.

Revenge for Mac.

--

Meanwhile, in a high-priced office…

"How's their investigation going?" One man said to another.

"No doubt slow. Stop worrying, they won't trace it back to us."

"I didn't hurt Taylor too bad, did I?"

"I'm sure he's not complaining." The bossy man said, and the worried one seemed to calm down, saying,

"Well, at least I know they can't trace it back to us. Remind me again why the FBI couldn't just take this and sweep it under the rug?"

"Bonasera," The bossy man muttered with disgust. "She floored my two men, saying how she was Taylor's partner, best friend, girlfriend, mother to his unborn child, blah, blah, blah, and she wasn't going to let them take her case. Something about a snowball in hell too."

"Child? She's pregnant?" The worried man said, incredulous.

"Yeah." The bossy man grumbled, and the worried man said,

"Oh God, if something happens to the child because of what happened, I'll never forgive myself. Maybe I seem a little ruthless, but that's the job. I never, ever want an innocent child…" The worried man started to get worried again, and the bossy man snapped,

"Shut up! Bonasera will be fine, though I gotta say, I'd love to get my hands on her."

"Aw shut it," The worried man moaned, dropping his head to his hands. The bossy man leaned back and let his confident smile show through. His plan would work. It would.

--

I thought I'd give you a super long chapter to make up for my terrible updating! Please please please don't hate me! I promise I'm back on track, though the updates might be slower than usual, because I'm writing as I'm posting, I usual like to write it first, then alter it according to what the readers generally would rather read. Thank you SO much for reading this, hopefully it means you might consider forgiving me? I really hope you enjoyed this, and drop me a review, whether it's to yell at me, give me some criticism or to tell me you like it! Or anything in between, thank you SO MUCH! :) Adios for now!


	8. Hold Still

Chapter 8 is up! This one's a little shorter than the last one, but is about the same as the others before Chapter 7! Thank you sooo much for sticking with this, even if it's too sad. And no, I promise I'm not getting Gibbs and Stella together, but I did bring NCIS in for a reason, not just because I love the show! (though that was a factor, haha) And I don't know if I explained this already, but the names of the chapters are the 'steps' in The Fray's music video "How To Save A Life". I looked them up, and decided to name all the chapters after them. So if they don't exactly make sense with the content of the chapter, that's why!

Sorry, enough of my rambling, onto the chapter! :)

--

Stella strode into New York City's FBI lab, her eyes daring anyone to try and stop her, the badge gleaming on her hip. Gibbs was right next to her, scanning the area for the person in charge's office. When his icy blue eyes spotted his old friend Agent Tobias Fornell, he gently touched Stella's arm and jerked his head in Fornell's direction.

"Tobias," Gibbs called, striding over to him.

"Never expected to see you here, Jethro," Tobias said in shock, but the two men shook hands.

"Detective Stella Bonasera, Agent Fornell," Stella said, reaching her hand out.

"You brought a city cop with you?"

"Yes he did, Agent Fornell," Stella said sharply, getting Fornell's attention. She continued, "I came here to find out why the hell your agents took my partner, Detective Mac Taylor's body."

"Detective Bonasera…" Fornell started to say, but Stella plowed on, taking a step towards her, fury dancing in her eyes.

"Furthermore, I resent the implications that the NYPD cannot handle Detective Taylor's murder. My team and I damn well take care of our own, and we will find his killers. Yes I said killers, because there had to be at least one person driving the car, two people shooting and one more person, possibly more."

"And why is that?" Fornell asked, getting a little edgy.

"Those people are the ones pulling the strings, like little puppeteers. They live in a fantasy world, thinking they won't get caught, living out their pathetic lives vicarious through someone else. Basically, they use someone, but implant their own imagination into that someone. Are you that someone, Agent Fornell, or are you the puller of the string?" Stella demanded, and Fornell snapped,

"I resent that, Detective!"

"Yeah? Well, apparently that's the one thing we have in common." Stella shot, and Fornell looked in exasperation at Gibbs, saying,

"Can't you keep her on a leash?"

"I don't answer to him, Agent Fornell." Stella said icily, and Gibbs shrugged, enjoying Stella rip Fornell apart. He knew it too, could see it in Fornell's eyes that he was involved, no matter how hard Fornell tried to hide it.

"Then who do you answer to, Detective?"

"I'm sure you know, Agent Fornell," Stella said sarcastically, and took another step towards him. Fornell took a step back automatically and cursed at himself for showing apprehension, fear, even. "Now, I demand you tell me where Detective Taylor's body is, or I swear I will get a warrant here within the hour." Stella said slowly, freezing Fornell with her glare.

Fornell stared at her for a second, and then turned away in resignation, motioning for them to follow him, muttering, "'Hell hath no fury like a woman scored'."

"And don't you forget it." Stella shot, while Gibbs just shook his head and followed Stella in Fornell's wake.

In a few minutes they reached the FBI's morgue, and Fornell nodded to the ME before striding over to one door, yanking it open and pulling out the slide, with a body on it, covered by a plain white sheet. Stella's hands shook at her sides, but she clenched them into fists as Gibbs stated, "You're going to let us take the body."

"Afraid I can't do that. He's already been autopsied." Fornell said with a triumphant sneer, and Stella stared at Fornell before flying at him, grabbing his shirt and snarling,

"You cut into him, you lying bastard! He deserved respect, decorum, and you just cut into him like he meant nothing. Our ME would've done a hell of a lot better than yours, because he would've been careful. You son of a bitch, how could you do that to him? To me? To my damn team?!"

"Detective, back off before I arrest you…"

"Then I'll arrest you for interfering with an investigation in which you have no jurisdiction." Stella said coldly, fighting to get her composure back. Gibbs grabbed her shoulders and gently pulled her off of Fornell, who snapped,

"I didn't interfere, as the ME had part jurisdiction. You and NCIS are working together, are you not?"

"What-" Stella started to say, and Gibbs interrupted, saying,

"Ducky did the autopsy?"

"He did. Flew him up here, and flew him back down a few minutes ago." Fornell said triumphantly, and Stella took a deep breath, saying calmly to Fornell,

"I really hope I get to come back here, because that'll mean I've got enough evidence to put cuffs on you and haul your sorry ass to jail."

With that, she turned and strode out, banging the doors as she went. Gibbs narrowed his eyes at Fornell, who shrugged and said, "I didn't do anything, Jethro,"

Gibbs just raised an eyebrow and walked out after Stella. He found her huddled against the car, her face in her hands as she tried to get her composure back for the second time. "You okay?" Gibbs asked quietly, and Stella mumbled,

"I will be, give me a second,"

He fell silent, and when Stella straightened back up, wiping her tears away, Gibbs said, "You're right, Fornell's got something to do with Mac's death. I don't know whether it's good or bad, but it's something."

Stella sighed, and got into the driver's seat, saying, "Well, let's go check out what the team's got on the license plate number, and if they found anything else." Gibbs just nodded and barely got his seatbelt buckled before Stella floored it and headed towards the lab.

"Ducky is my medical examiner, full name is Donald Mallard, but all his friends call him Ducky," Gibbs said, looking out the window. He turned towards Stella and said sincerely, "He was very careful, knowing Ducky. I can promise you he found everything, and was very polite to Mac."

Stella glanced at him for a split second, but Gibbs spotted the tears in her eyes. "Thank you, Gibbs," He nodded and settled back into looking out of the window.

--

"Yes!" Kendall cried out, and Adam stuck his head in the door, raising an eyebrow and saying,

"Care to share, Miss Novak?"

"Get over here and I will," Kendall said, and when Adam was sitting next to her, looking at the computer screen he said,

"Okay, spill."

"I ran the license plate," She began and Adam looked at her funny. "What?"

"Wasn't Lindsay and Sheldon doing that?"

"They were, but I offered, and they decided to start on the evidence. Besides that," She said, narrowing her eyes at Adam and then continued, "Yeah, it's stolen, but it was stolen from a very high-profile person, and you'll never guess who?"

"The mayor?" Adam threw out, and Kendall barely spared him a exasperated look before continuing,

"Nope, Brigham Sinclair himself!"

"Seriously? Whoa, that had to get at least some police coverage," Adam whistled low, and Kendall nodded, adding,

"Yep, and guess who was the leading cop on the case?"

"Flack?"

"Nope. Jess."

"Great!" Adam said exuberantly, and impulsively grabbed Kendall and kissed her hard before jumping out of his chair, yanking his cell phone out.

"Flack," Don's brusque voice said, and Adam babbled,

"Don, it's Adam. Kendall ran the license plate and you'll never guess, of course they're stolen, but who they're stolen from!"

"The freaking president?" Don said sourly, not in the mood for games. He just lost one of his own; he was the last one to get the video footage from his appointed gun store, and in turn he had to buy both Tony and Danny lunch.

"No, Sinclair!"

Don snapped to attention, saying, "Seriously?"

"As a heart attack," Adam said solemnly, and then added, "Of course there was a big investigation, and guess who was the investigating officer?"

"Not me,"

"Nope, Jess!" Adam said excitedly, and Don grinned, saying,

"Thanks, Adam. Great work, tell Kendall too."

He snapped his phone shut and looked at Danny, lounging in the front seat with his burger, and Tony slurped his soda in the back seat. "I'm dropping you two yahoos back at the lab to look at the footage, I've got to get to the hospital."

"Why?" Tony questioned, and Danny tossed back,

"His girlfriend's in there recuperating from a few gunshot wounds."

"Ah," Tony said, understanding completely.

"That's not it, you idiots," Don muttered, and continued, "In short, Adam and Kendall ran the license plate, and it was stolen from Sinclair. She was the leading officer on the case, so I'm going to ask her who she thought was the best candidate, since no one was arrested. Sinclair dropped the charges, or at least that's what I've heard."

"Hmm…" Danny said, taking a thoughtful bite out of his burger. What was on his mind was exactly what was on Don's and Tony's mind, but Danny and Don knew that if they even breathed a word of their suddenly growing theory, they'd both lose their jobs in a heartbeat.

--

Well, nice tiny cliff hanger there, huh? Where do you think I'm going with this? Let me know your thoughts, and I hope Stella's extremely furious scene with Fornell and Gibbs was okay, I just went with it! Thanks so much for reading, and adios for now! :)


	9. Hold Close

Chapter 9 is up!!! Don goes to see Jess, so some major Don/Jess going on, and while they're talking, Gibbs and Stella are being updated, and Lindsay and Danny go to pick Lucy up, so a little D/L. Becca brings Sheldon lunch, so this is mostly 'holding close' to the people they love. (See, I actually tried to match the chapter title to the content! Yea me! Haha!)

But the team gets one step closer to finding Mac's killers! Enjoy!

A smile broke out over Don's face as he stood in the doorway of Jess's hospital room, watching her peaceful face in sleep. He sighed, a feeling of contentment coming over him. His eyes, warm with love, stayed on Jess's face as he approached her bed, sitting down next to her, softly taking her hand.

Slowly she stirred, turning her head and opening her eyes, smiling softly. "Hey," She said, squeezing his hand.

"Hey there," Don said, leaning forward and kissing her softly.

"What's going on?" She questioned, the pain visible in her eyes, emotional, not physical, and Don knew that. He felt the same pain.

"I need to ask you some questions about a stolen car case you worked a while ago," Don replied, and Jess looked up at the ceiling, obviously thinking.

"Who was the car stolen from?"

"Brigham Sinclair."

Jess's eyes snapped over to Don's, and she nodded, saying, "Yeah, I remember. He dropped the charges, saying that he didn't really need the car back, as it was probably already stripped. I didn't argue, partly because he was right, and partly because, well, he's Sinclair, you don't just say no to him,"

"Yeah, I know," Don scoffed, and Jess smiled.

"Why're you asking?"

Don told her everything they knew so far, about the license plate, and how Mac had already been autopsied, by the NCIS medical examiner, though in the FBI building. As predicted, Jess was furious. "How dare they?" She exclaimed, the fury flashing in her eyes.

"Don't shoot the messenger, Jess," Don pleaded, though she could see the smoldering anger in his eyes. "But besides that, if we follow this lead, and hopefully get something from the rest of the evidence. The bullets didn't match any other case, but that wasn't a big shocker." His voice soothed her anger, and she slumped back down into her pillows and said,

"What about the footage you guys got from the gun stores?"

"It's at the lab now, being processed and watched carefully. Don't envy who has that job," Don muttered, and Jess chuckled. He added, "Abby, Sheldon and Lindsay are still working on the bloody glass, the fingerprints on the bullets, and the DNA they found on the sidewalk, also the tire tracks the car left when they peeled out after they stopped firing."

"So you don't have to get back to the lab any time soon?" Jess said hopefully, and Don replied with a chuckle,

"Nope. I'm waiting for Danny to call me." Jess scooted over in the bed, and Don carefully climbed up, swiftly pulling her to him. She curled up against his chest and he sighed, pressing his lips to her forehead.

"Love you," Jess mumbled, and Don closed his eyes, replying,

"Love you too, Jess,"

The elevator dinged again, back in the lab, and Sheldon leaned back with a sigh, rubbing his tired eyes. He had been staring at the computer screen for a good 2 hours now, non-stop, and his eyes were killing him.

Lindsay came striding in, and said, "I've got a face!"

"From where?" Sheldon asked, spinning around and facing Lindsay who shoved a piece of computer paper at him with a face on it.

"I was interviewing one of the witnesses, who was across the street, and they saw the driver's face. I got her to a sketch artist, and voila!"

"Lindsay, I could seriously kiss you right now," Sheldon said, grinning at her and spinning back around to check the footage for the face he had in his hand.

"I don't think so, Doc, she's married," Danny's voice said, and Lindsay laughed as Danny wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed her neck.

"Get a room," Sheldon muttered, and Danny replied,

"Gladly." When Sheldon turned around, his girlfriend Becca was standing there, holding a paper sack in her hands. She grinned at him, and he stood up, reaching out and brushing his fingers down her cheek, saying,

"Hey. What're you doing here?"

"Brought you some lunch. I figured you'd be too busy working to eat." Becca said quietly, and Sheldon realized she was right.

"Did you bring enough for two?" He asked, glancing back at the two chairs.

"I was hoping you'd say that!" She said brightly, and they sat down. Becca pulled out two sandwiches, two small bags of chips, two cookies and two bottles of soda.

Sheldon and Becca ate in silence, while Sheldon uploaded the sketch to the computer, and let the technology search the footage for him.

Danny pulled Lindsay into an empty room, which turned out to be a big broom closet. "Very romantic, Danny," Lindsay teased, and Danny growled,

"Doubting my mad skills, Montana?"

"Oh never," Lindsay assured him, hiding a giggle.

"Wanna go home and grab the little rug rat?" Danny said, nuzzling her throat.

"Sure, she can help us," Lindsay said quietly, and Danny kissed her once, twice, three times before opening the door and catching her hand as they walked to the elevator and took a ride down.

When they reached the bottom, the pair ran straight into Stella and Gibbs. "Hey! Are you by any chance going to pick up my goddaughter?" Stella asked, a smile on her face.

"Yep. You don't mind, do ya Stella?" Danny said, and Stella shook her head.

"As long as I get to hold her for a while!"

"No problem. Go see Sheldon and Becca in the AV lab, Sheldon'll update both of you," Lindsay called as Danny pulled her away.

"They're married, have a little daughter Lucy," Stella said to Gibbs as they got into the elevator. Gibbs nodded as they rode up to their level.

Sheldon updated them while Adam, Kendall and Abby were working on Mac's bloody clothes and the bloody glass they found on the outside of the bar. Adam was silently processing Mac's clothes, while Kendall isolated the blood types and ran the DNA from the glass. Abby got the email from Sheldon with the face and started running it through the second shop's footage, and then she emailed it to Tony, who started running it through the third shop's footage.

Slowly, all the forensic pieces started to fall into place. Very slowly.

Within an hour, Tony got a hit on the face. The guy was with a few other guys, who were checking out the machine guns in the store. The total shopping trip was the gun oil, and two M-16's. Abby enhanced the footage, and three very clear faces were run through databases, trying to put names to the faces.

While the faces ran, Danny and Lindsay came back up the elevator, while Danny had Lucy on his shoulders, straddling his neck and he was holding onto her arms to make sure she didn't fall.

They rounded the corner to Stella's office, and Stella immediately got to her feet, grinning as she walked towards the trio. "Here's Aunt Stella!" Lindsay said with a smile as Danny lifted Lucy up and put her in Stella's waiting arms.

"Hey, pretty baby," Stella crooned, and rocked Lucy slowly as she walked back into her office. Danny and Lindsay exchanged a look and then walked down the hallway as Stella sat in her chair, still rocking Lucy. "I hope I have a pretty baby just like you," Stella murmured, her eyes glancing down at her stomach.

According to her doctor, the morning sickness was going to stop soon, hopefully, but Stella wasn't sure about that. Most days, she was hurrying to the bathroom 5, maybe 6 times, though she tried to hide it from the rest of the team. Knowing them, they'd try to force her to work less, and with this case, she couldn't. She just couldn't.

Lucy's hands found their way to Stella's hair and she started playing with it, giggling. "You like my hair, little Lucy?" Stella questioned, grinning down at Lucy. Lucy just drooled and kept twirling the curls around in her tiny hands.

"Stella!" She heard her name being shouted from the AV lab. Quickly she stood up and hurried to the lab, making sure Lucy wasn't jostled too much in the move. When she strode through the door, Abby said,

"We've got names for all of them."

"But you won't believe who the blood belongs to from the bloody glass we found outside." Adam interjected, his eyes bright and slightly fearful.

"Who's it from, Adam?"

Cliff-hanger! I'm back in the groove! Ha, just kidding, but I know, big cliff-hanger, but you'll find out in the next chapter who the blood belongs to. You can guess, but I'm pretty sure you won't get it! Thanks so much for reading, and I hope you liked this chapter! Adios for now!


	10. Amaze Yourself

Chapter 10 is up! Now you'll find out who the blood belongs to, and the team's reaction to who it belongs to. The plot to kill Mac slowly starts to come together, finally. Enjoy!

"Chief Brigham Sinclair." Kendall snarled, her eyes narrowing as she checked the DNA profile very closely. Stella's eyes went wide, and quickly she whipped around, Lucy still clutched tightly in her arms, and she strode out through the glass doors, fury dancing in her eyes.

Hands suddenly gripped her arms tightly, and yanked her back, preventing her from going any further. "Let me go," She hissed, glancing back to see Danny's angry face.

"No." He said simply, and Stella felt the tears well in her eyes. She shook her head viciously to fight the tears back and demanded,

"Yes. Let. Me. Go. Now!"

"I can't do that, Stel," He replied, still restraining her. She fought against his grip desperately, but he wasn't budging.

"I have to know, he has to answer for what he did!" Stella growled, still clutching Lucy in her arms.

"He will. But we need to think about this, Stella. Think before actions." He said gently, and slowly Stella stopped fighting him, but leaned towards him, sobbing quietly into his chest. Danny's arms encircled her tightly, and she clutched at his shirt.

"Why? Why did he have him killed? Why?" Stella moaned in agony, and Danny felt tears of his own in his eyes as he swallowed hard and said regretfully,

"I don't know, Stel, I don't know."

"Are you sure they don't suspect us?"

"Positive. How's our patient?"

"Still unresponsive, in that damned coma. You know what's going to happen if…"

"Yes, I know." The man, who was obviously in charge, snapped, and the other man shrugged.

"So what's next?"

"We wait, monitor the team's progress. Our informant will help with that, and if they get too close, I'll let Brigham know."

"All right. I hate staying here, playing guard when the person I'm guarding sure as hell can't get up and walk away." The other man whined, and the man in charge growled,

"Stop complaining. My plan will work, and we can get back. So just shut up and do the job."

"Fine, fine."

Stella walked back into the conference room, her red-rimmed eyes hidden by her makeup. She looked at Danny gratefully, and he just nodded and handed Lucy to her. Stella smiled at the little girl before looking up and saying,

"So who are the three lucky winners?"

"Brad Anderson, Mark Danville and Jude Zadora. They were all identified as being in the store where the gun oil and guns were purchased, along with the bullets." Lindsay said, pointing out their mug shots.

"Me, Kendall and Adam matched the gun oil to the brand they sell at the store, along with the bullets, which are engraved with their logo, and when we find the guns we can match them too. I love specialty stores, they always mark their goods." Abby sighed, and Stella nodded absently.

She was staring at the three men who killed Mac. One had put the bullets in him, one had driven the vehicle and the other, well, they didn't know where the other man fit in, but he was there for a reason.

Sheldon cleared his throat, and when Stella jerked herself out of her stare, he said, "We know one man is the driver, and according to our witness, it was Jude Zadora. Either Brad or Mark was the shooter, but what was the other one doing?"

Don said thoughtfully, "Maybe he was the brains of the operation; planned everything out."

"He didn't need to be there; his plan was being carried out and that's all that matters." Danny added, and everyone nodded.

"And according to their rap sheets, Mark was the one with the smart crimes, like electronic identity stealing and other crimes that would require either a good plan or a smart brain." Adam piped up, and Stella walked over to the board, uncapping the dry erase marker.

She wrote 'shooter' under Brad's name, 'driver' under Jude's name and 'planner' under Mark's name. "Mark's smart, technically we can only charge him with intent to murder, if we can charge him at all. We have no proof that he planned any of this whatsoever." Stella said with a scowl, and Abby said quickly,

"Get me his computer and I'll get you that proof."

"Gladly." Lindsay replied, grabbing her phone to get a warrant to search the suspect's apartments, cars, anything, and take anything that pertained to the case, like computers or any other evidence.

It took the rest of the day, but the warrant came through and it was near sunset when Don and Danny went to serve the warrant to the apartment listed on Mark's parole release, Stella, Lindsay, Gibbs and Tony went to serve the warrant on Jude and Brad's shared apartment.

"For being professional assassins, they sure didn't care much for cleanliness." Lindsay commented as she and Stella went through the two bedrooms.

"They didn't plan on the NYPD coming through here, Linds," Stella said with a tired smile, and Lindsay looked over at her in concern.

"After we collect all the evidence, you need to go home, Stel," Lindsay said gently, and Stella went to shake her head, but then realized that Lindsay was right. "Mac would want you to sleep." She added hesitantly, and Stella rubbed her eyes.

"Yeah, you're right, Lindsay. As long as everyone else goes home, then I'll go without a fight."

"Deal." Lindsay said with a smile, and went back to processing. When they finished collecting their computers and any other thing that seemed pertinent to the investigation, the pair started carrying boxes out. Stella saw two men walking down the hallway, and when they saw her walking out of their apartment, they froze, turned tail and booked down the hallway.

Stella dropped the box and barely heard the crash as she chased after them, her gun appearing in her hand as she yelled, "Suspects fleeing down the right stairwell!" Stella followed them down onto the almost deserted street and kept following them, her eyes narrowing in triumph when they turned into an alley that she knew was a dead end.

She caught up to them, and when they hit the brick wall, both whipped around and Stella raised her gun, barking out, "NYPD, put your hands up!" When neither cooperated, Stella added between gritted teeth, "Please give me a reason to shoot both of you. Please, please, please give me a reason."

"You're our target's lover, right?" Jude sneered, and Brad snorted when Stella's muscles stiffened.

"Carrying his kid, too. Ah, that's gotta suck. Too bad the kid's gonna grow up a bastard, no father, probably a bad mother too, look at her," Brad spat, and Stella's hands started shaking.

"Be careful, Brad, she might shoot us," Jude mocked, and both of them roared with laughter.

Two shots rang out from the alley, and Lindsay froze for a split second before running into the alley, Tony and Gibbs on her heels.

I don't know if you can count that as a cliff-hanger, but I tried! And I know, my updating is seriously bad, but I'm working on it, I promise! Thanks so much for reading, and let me know what you think so far! Chapter 11 coming soon, as soon as I can get it written! Adios for now!


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